U.S. Helps Africans Preserve Ancient Muslim Manuscripts

Diplomat speaks at "Ink Road" conference in Mali

Washington -- Ancient Islamic manuscripts that might otherwise crumble into dust will be preserved for future generations, thanks to a partnership between Africans and Americans.

The partnership was described recently by Robin L. Yeager, cultural attaché at the U.S. Embassy and director of the American Cultural Center in Bamako, Mali.

Yeager spoke at the closing ceremony of the "Ink Road" symposium in Bamako in August, where experts met to discuss ways of preserving Islamic manuscripts that are fast deteriorating. The American Cultural Center in Bamako helped plan and fund the conference.

The gathering followed a similar meeting held in Timbuktu last summer that sought to mobilize international support for the preservation of manuscripts that document the legal efforts of Islamic scholars in Africa during ancient times.

"Almost two years ago," Yeager said, "I was in a meeting where people talked about some way to draw attention to the ink road and the manuscripts along it -- the knowledge contained in them, and the romance surrounding the travels of each manuscript. Your adoption ... of the by-laws for your new organization ...[has] made this symposium truly a success."

The term "Ink Road" comes from the practice of ancient scholars, known as "ambassadors of peace," who would travel widely using the Koran and their skills at mediation and arbitration to settle disputes among warring factions. Their decisions would be documented on parchment or animal skins that are now held in archives worldwide, with many in need of preservation.

Overall U.S. support for the preservation effort comes from the State Department's Bureau of African Affairs, its Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and its Office of International Information Programs.

Yeager said he took his cue from the recently departed U.S. ambassador to Mali, Michael Ranneberger, who was a strong believer in the need to help preserve Islamic texts. In a speech he gave last year, Ranneberger said: "This body of work is capable of changing the historical image of Africa and of its culture. ... Through our support of this project, the government and people of the United States would like to show our support for the culture and traditions of Mali and for these treasures of Islam."

In Mali, funding for the Ink Road project came from the State Department's Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, which in 2001 disbursed $1 million for 61 projects across the world.

Yeager noted that the projects are "remarkable for their diversity -- including such areas as museum collections, historic buildings, archaeological sites, rare manuscripts, as well as traditional music, language, and crafts."

In addition to being the primary financial contributor to the Mali conference, the United States also helped send American experts on document preservation to the meeting.

Yeager noted: "Many times this week we have referred to the race against time necessary to save these documents. Through collaboration with experts in other specialties of cultural preservation, you will be able to speed up the process of developing procedures and protocols regarding these materials. The savings of time and resources will ultimately allow you to safeguard a larger number of manuscripts."

The experts at the conference included Ms. Marieta Harper from the Library of Congress, who shared information about the body of Islamic manuscripts that migrated to, or were created in, the United States. Of particular note, Yeager said, is the story of Omar Ibn Said, a literate slave who recorded his experiences, and whose miraculously surviving manuscript is not only a testimony to the man and the events of his life, but also an important illustration of the importance of each manuscript.

The diplomat stressed that "loss of even one book means loss of a human history, loss of connections, loss of the past that brings us to today. This is an African treasure, but it is also a world treasure."

Another authority on document preservation, Dr. James Reap of the University of Georgia and Georgia State University, "brings the experience of other disciplines in creating legislation and protocols to protect cultural materials," Yeager said.

"You may wonder," the diplomat said to his audience, "why we are so supportive of this particular project -- that has its base in another continent, is written in a language not our own, and is largely based on a religion not the predominant religion of the United States, although with almost 7 million Muslims in the United States, it is certainly an important element of our society."

Yeager explained: "U.S. society in general -- and American educators specifically -- realize that Americans do not know enough about other countries and cultures. In many school districts the first mention of African history is the role of European explorers and colonizers, and superficial mention of the slave trade. This is of concern because all Americans need to know about this important part of the world and its history, and all Americans need to understand that the African-Americans' ancestors came from advanced civilizations, rich cultures, and learned traditions."

Toward this end, many schools in the United States have begun to look for ways to bring knowledge of the outside world to the attention of their students, the diplomat pointed out.

For example, he said the state of Virginia recently decreed that all students would study the ancient kingdoms of Mali, and knowledge of this subject would be required for graduation from the third grade. The neighboring state of Maryland put similar requirements in their curriculum for 12-year-olds.

The District of Columbia (Washington) is also planning new curriculum elements and teacher training "about Mali ... about Africa," Yeager said. Hopefully, he added, the curriculum will also be about these Ink Road manuscripts and the stories they contain.